The Haulotte Group, Europe’s leading supplier of access and material handling equipment, has recently opened a regional office at Dubai Airport Free Zone.

The world’s third largest people and material-lifting equipment specialist says it is expanding its presence in the Gulf in response to a booming regional economy and an increasing demand for safe working platforms on construction sites.
“The Middle East is a key area for Haulotte Group,” says Arthur Danelian, managing director Haulotte Middle East FZE. “Strong relationships have been created with the market here and by being closer to the market we will be able to further strengthen these relationships and create new business contacts,” he says, adding “with this operation we reinforce our presence and action in the ME, where construction projects are ever rising.”
The Dubai office will cover the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) regions.
Although the company has been in the region since 2001, business started to pick up since 2003 and has been increasing 20-25 per cent year-on-year. Haulotte sold around 600 machines in the UAE last year. “Besides the UAE, Saudi Arabia is an important market for us followed by Qatar and Bahrain,” he says, adding that future plans for the company include setting up offices in Algeria and South Africa to cater to the African markets.
With more than 1,800 staff and a turnover of $749.1 million (2006), Haulotte has expanded its international presence with five manufacturing plants in Europe and 17 subsidiaries throughout five continents, including the latest one in Dubai.
The group currently delivers around 1,000 machines per year to the ME and hopes the new subsidiary in Dubai will enable the company to expand operations and increase this figure.
Haulotte’s range of aerial work platforms includes electric and diesel scissor lifts, telescopic and articulated booms and diesel telescopic handlers.
The company recently diversified its product range with the launch of Haulotte Top Lift (HTL) telescopic handlers.
“The product brings in a wide range of innovations in terms of compactness, pollution level (with a significant reduction in noise and CO2 emission levels), user safety, reliability, comfort, ease of use and transportation,” Danelian says.
With lifting capacities of up to 4 tonnes and lifting heights as high as 17 m, HTL telehandlers can be fitted with multiple accessories – forks, simple or toothless buckets, work tools, hooked brackets, metal windscreen protectors and side-mounted work tool containers – offering excellent maneuverability.
Haulotte has also brought out a range of SXL series scissor lifts, with a 7.3 m long platform for activities requiring very long loads such as laying wall panels, windows and sprinkler installations.
Other new products launched by the company recently include the HA 41 PX articulating platform. It has been designed to meet all working requirements at heights of 41 m with a boom and fly jib range of 140 degrees.